Methods and means for inducing hypnosis

ABSTRACT

An arrangement for inducing hypnosis includes a record medium subdivided into sections. A first section reproduces a message once for a predetermined period of time. A second section reproduces a second message repetitively for an indefinite period of time. A third section may be included to produce a message or alarm ending the period of hypnosis. Alternately, the alarm may be outside of the record medium.

United States Patent Symmes [151 3,656,760 [451 Apr. 18, 1972 [54]METHODS AND MEANS FOR INDUCING HYPNOSIS [52] U.S. Cl. ..274/1R 3,205,3169/1965 Hechler.... ..179/100.2 M1 3,321,205 5/1967 Dennis ..274/l03,420,967 1/1969 Goldmark ..274/46 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS828,608 2/ 1960 Great Britain ..274/ 15 Primary Examiner-Harry N.Haroian Attorney-Edward M. F arrell 51 Int. c ..Gllb 3/00 1 ABSTRACT[58'] Fleld of Search ..274/1, 13-15, 10 An arrangement for inducinghypnosis includes a record medi um subdivided into sections. A firstsection reproduces a [56] References cued message once for apredetermined period of time. A second UNITED STATES PATENTS sectionreproduces a second message repetitively for an indefinite period oftime. A third section may be included to 1,046,650 12/1912 Rotheudt..274/4O roduce a message or alarm ending the period Of hypnosis A]-2,631,950 1 954 Owens 1 100-2 MI ternately, the alarm may be outside ofthe record medium. 2,794,647 6/1957 Guest ..274/l 5 X 3,079,160 2/1963Winchell ..274/42 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures L A NDI N G COUNTERCONTROL P'ATENTEIJAPR 18 I972 SHEET 10F 2 INVENTOR.

PAUL S. SYMMES LANDING CONTROL COUNTER ATTORNEY PATENTEDIIPII I8 I9723.656.760

SHEET 2 OF 2 TIMER 74 1 76 I AUDIO REPRO- DUCTION 52 50 'T lNDUCTlON\J@D/flao \70 SUGGESTION .Tl: y 4

ALARM/T 1 54 56 I AUDIO REPRO- DUCTION Fig.5

TIMER RELAY TIMER 94 ALARM AUDIO A92 88 REPRO- DUCTION INVENTOR.

PAUL S. SYMMES ATTORNEY METHODS AND MEANS FOR INDUCING HYPNOSIS Theinducement of hypnosis has become well recognized in recent years asbeing an effective method in aiding certain persons upset by physicaland emotional problems. It has also been used to help people who merelydesire to improve their mental abilities.

While the benefits to be derived from the use of hypnosis in many casesare numerous, unfortunately, many persons who can benefit therefrom areunable to do so. While some of these persons are unaware of the benefitsthey could achieve, in the main, the failure of many persons to takeadvantage of hypnosis is caused by the shortageof competent doctors inthis field.

While the methods involved in hypnosis vary among different doctors, inmany fields involving mental and emotional problems, the methodsemployed have generally involved a relatively fixed pattern. As thefield of hypnosis has entered the phase where it is now consideredsomewhat of a science by many professionals and institutions, certainprocedures and steps have been generally accepted as standard in thehypnosis field.

In many treatments involving hypnosis, there is a period known as theinduction period. During this period, a doctor speaks to a patient forthe purpose of producing a state of mind wherein he will accept the ideathat he can be hypnotized. Once he accepts this idea, the patientbecomes more susceptible to suggestions and treatments to follow. Theinduction period may last some predetermined period of time.

Following the induction period, the doctor may make a series ofsuggestions to the patient. This may be called the suggestion" period.In most cases, these suggestions are repetitive in nature and designedto induce deeper and deeper responses within the patient.

The particular suggestions presented during the suggestion period aredependent upon the problem associated with the patient. For example,suggestions relating to physical ailments would be different than thosefor mental or emotional problems. In some cases, the hypnosis may beinduced to overcome certain weaknesses of personality or may be made toassist the patient in relaxing in concentration to help him in speedreading, help the patients memory or for any one of a number of otherreasons.

Following the suggestion period, the patient is taken out of thehypnotic state. In most cases following the hypnosis, the problem beingtreated is alleviated. For example, the patiens memory may be improved,his concentration improved or the like. In many cases, a number oftreatments may be necessary before an appreciable improvement takesplace.

It is an object of this invention to provide improved method and meansfor producing hypnosis by means of a recording medium.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved meansfor producing hypnosis wherein a recording medium may include aplurality of messages for reproduction for different periods of time.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide an improvedmeans for producing hypnosis including a record wherein means areincluded in the record to end the period of hypnosis.

In accordance with the present invention, means for inducing hypnosis ina person includes a recording medium. The recording medium is dividedinto two or more sectors each including a different recorded message.Means are provided to reproduce a first message on the first sector onceor for some predetermined period of time. This first message relates tothe induction period of the hypnosis operation. The second messagerecorded on the second sector is reproduced and played over and over ina repetitive fashion. Means for ending the period of hypnosis, which mayinclude an alarm, may be separate from the recording medium or includedin the recording medium to reproduce an alarm after the second messagehas been played for a predetermined period of time.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentand suggest themselves to those skilled in the art,

from a reading of the following specification and claims, in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 represent different embodiments of records which may beemployed in practising the present invention, and

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 represent different arrangements for utilizing magnetictape, in accordance with the present invention.

Referring particularly to FIG. 1, a phonograph record 10 which, forexample, may comprise a conventional 12 inch size commonly used to berotated at a speed of 33%revolutions per 7 minute on a conventionalphonograph mechanism, includes three portions l2, l4 and 16.

In the present invention, the portion 12 is used to record the inductionportion of an hypnosis period. The portion 16 includes the suggestionportion of the hypnosis period. The portion 14 includes no recordingthereon and is used as a landing area for a tone arm of a record player,for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The various phonograph mechanisms for reproducing the information on therecord 10 are not shown or illustrated in detail because they may beconventional and are well known to those skilled in the art. Forexample, a feature found in phonographs sold commercially which is usedin the present invention involves an arm adapted to rest on a top recordwhen a stack of records are being played. This arm serves to hold therecords in place and upon playing of the last record serves toautomatically shut off the phonograph.

If the arm referred to is not disposed over the last record to be playedbut rather is disposed ofi to the side of the record, the variousswitching devices for turning off the phonograph will not becomeoperative and the last record will be played over and over until thephonograph is manually turned off.

lt is also well known in the art to have phonographs designated tooperate at different speeds, for example, 16 rpm, 33%, 45 rpm and 78rpm. The present invention contemplates the use of a phonograph havingsuch different speeds in some embodiments. The present invention furthercontemplates the use of stereophonic records involving dual tracks,although for purposes of simplicity and explanation, only records withsingle information tracks are illustrated and described.

In one embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1, therecord 10 may be cut to reproduce intelligence when it is played at aspeed of 45 rpm. However, the actual size of the record may be muchlarger than that of a conventional 45 rpm record. As mentioned, the sizeof the record 10 may be the same as a conventional 33%i.e. 12 inches. Ineffect, the record 10, which is the same size as a 33%record, is cut tobe played at a speed of 45 rpm.

When the record 10 is placed on a phonograph of the conventional typeadapted to reproduce records of different sizes and speeds, the arm forterminating the playing of the last record is positioned so that therecord 10 will play over and over. The phonograph is also set to play ata speed of 45 rpm.

The tone arm of the record player is then manually set close to theouter periphery of the record at the beginning of portion 12. Theportion 12 of the record 10 is then reproduced in the conventionalmanner through appropriate amplifiers and loudspeakers.

Upon completion of the reproduction of the portion 12, the tone arm ofthe phonograph continues through the relatively narrow portion 14 withno information thereon and then on to the portion 16. The audio signalsrecorded on portion 16 are then reproduced inthe usual manner.

Upon completion of the playing of the portion 16, the automatic changingmechanism found in conventional record players comes into operation. Thetone arm is lifted from the record and normally would be returned to itsstarting point to play the entire record over. However, inthearrangement illustrated, the tone arm will not return to the beginningof the record. Because the mechanism is set to play a 45 rpm record, thetone returns to the normal starting point of a 45 rpm record of theconventional size.

uunan n-n,

This being the case, the stabilizing arm returns to the portion 14,which serves as a landing trackfThe portion 16 of the record is thenplayed over and over. Consequently, it is seen that the portion 12 ofthe record 10 is played once, with the portion 16 being played over andover indefinitely.

In a hypnosis operation, the portion 12 may include the inductionportion with the portion 16 including the suggestions portion. Theinduction portion is played once with the suggestions portion playedover and over. An external alarm may be provided to awake a person underhypnosis at the end of a predetermined time, at which time thephonograph would be turned off.

The use of a single record in place of a number of records to reproduceinduction and suggestion portions has a number of advantages. Theobvious one is that of economy.

An additional advantage over the use of two records resides in the factthat the second record, which normally would have to be played over andover, would not have the top guiding arm to keep it in proper alignmentduring the playing of the first record. This tends to produceinstability with the liklihood that the second record will fall duringthe playing of the first one to possibly damage the record or tone armof the record player. As mentioned, if the guiding arm were disposedover the top record with the two record arrangement the second recordwould shut off the phonograph and prevent the second record from beingplayed over and over. Referring particularly to FIG. 2, a somewhatdifferent embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Aphonograph record 18 includes a pair of tracks 20 and 22, with thetracks 20 being interposed between the tracks 22. The record 18 may beof any conventional size and again designed to be played on aconventional phonograph. To play the record, the tone arm of thephonograph is disposed off to the side of the record so that the recordwill be played over and over.

When the record 18 is in position on the phonograph, the tone arm ismanually set on the track 20. The track 20 may include the inductionportion and designed to be played a single time. Upon completion of thereproduction of the track 20, the tone arm is moved back towards theperiphery of the record. However, instead of returning all the way tothe track 20, the tone arm is returned to track 22 with the informationrecorded thereon being reproduced. The track 22 may include thesuggestion portion of the hypnosis period and is designed to be playedover and over. As mentioned, the track 22 is interposed between thegrooves of the track 20. Sufficient spacing is provided at the start ofthe tracks 20 and 22 to permit a person to manually set the tone arm onthe track'20 and not accidentally place it on the track 22 to start theoperation.

The beginning of the track 22 corresponds to the starting point of aconventional record and may be rotated at any one of the conventionalspeeds found on conventional phonographs. Becauseof the spacing of thetrack 20 from the track 22, the size of the record employed may beslightly larger than the conventional record.

As in the case of the record illustrated in FIG. 1, an external it alarmmay be set to go off at the end of a predetermined time period to bringa person out of hypnosis, at which time the phonograph would be shutoff.

In some cases, it may be desirable to have a record with a built inalarm as part of the record. This arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 3.A record 24 includes portions 26, 28 and 30 separated by portions 32 and34.

The portions of the record 26 and 28 may be similar to the portions 12and 16 of the record 10 illustrated and described in connection withFIG. 1. The portion 32 may correspond to the landing track portion 14 ofFIG. 1. When the record 24 is placed on the phonograph, the portion 26is played once with the portion 28 being played over and over. The tonearm normally returns to the landing track portion 32 in substantiallythe same manner as described in connection with FIG. 1 after the portion28 has been played.

A counter 36 is provided to count the number of times that the tone arm38 plays the portion 28. For example, a

microswitch or other suitable means may be actuated each time the tonearm 38 reaches the end track portion 34. At the end of a predeterminednumber of counts, the changing mechanism becomes disengaged by a landingcontrol mechanism 40 causing the tone arm 38 to continue on to theportion 30, which includes an alarm signal to awaken a patient.

The counter mechanism may be set by a patient to some preselected numberwith each setting of the counter corresponding to a period of time.Consequently, when the embodiment of FIG. 3 is used, an external alarmis not necessary. While the use of phonograph records to carry out thesubject invention has particular advantages with respect to economy,nevertheless, magnetic tapes involving specially designed equipment mayalso be used. Magnetic recording and reproduction are well known. Hence,details relating thereto in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 will be' omitted except asthey pertain specifically to the subject invention.

Referring particularly to FIG. 4, a magnetic 50 tape includes threetracks 52, 54 and 56 having information recorded thereon. The track 52may include induction voice information, the track 54 may includerecorded suggestions and the track 56 may include a recorded alann.

The tape 50 is passed through a transducer assembly 58 which includesmagnetic read heads 60 62 and 64 disposed to read the information ontracks'52, 54 and 56 respectively. The output signals from the readheads 60, 62 and 64 are applied to switches 66, 68 and 70, respectively,of a switching unit 72.

The switches 66, 68 and 70 are normally open with one of the switchesadapted to be selectively closed by means of a timer 74. Output signalsfrom one of the magnetic heads 60, 62, or 64 are applied through theswitching unit 72 to an audio reproduction unit 76, which includesappropriate amplifiers and loudspeaker.

In operation, an operator may set the timer so that switches 60, 62 and64 are sequentially closed for predetermined periods of time. The switch66 is first closed to cause the induction information on track 52 to beaudibly reproduced by the reproduction unit 76. Following a relativelyshort time which may be in the order of fifteen minutes, for example,the

timer 74 causes the switch 66 to open and the switch 68 to close. Atthis point, suggestions recorded on track 54 are reproduced by thereproduction unit 76. The timer 74 is set to keep the switch 62 closedfor a relatively long period of time, which may be in the order ofone-half hour, an hour or longer as determined by the operator orpatient.

After a preset time, the switch 68 opens and switch closes. At thispoint, an alarm signal recorded on the track 56 is applied to thereproduction unit 76 to awaken the patient. The alarm signal may, ofcourse, take a variety of different forms including an audio signal of afixed frequency.

Referring particularly to FIG. 5, an arrangement somewhat similar to thearrangement of FIG. 4 is illustrated. The same type of tape 50 may beemployed with the same type tracks 52, 54 and 54 recorded thereon, asdescribed in connection with FIG. 4.

In FIG. 5, the tape 50 is passed through a transducer box 78 including asingle read head 80. A timer 82, which may be preset by an operator, isadapted to operate a relay 84, which may include a stepping switch.Operation of the relay 84 at predetermined times causes the head 80 tobe sequentially moved from the track 52 to the track 54 and finally tothe track 56. The output signals from the head 80 are applied to theaudio reproduction unit 76 where the recorded signals are reproduced inthe manner discussed in connection with FIG. 4

Referring particularly to FIG. 6, the arrangement illustrated A separatetimer-alarm unit 94 may be provided to produce an alarm after apredetermined period of time.

The endless tape arrangement of FIG. 6 affords the advantage that thesuggestion portion of the hypnosis may be included in a relatively smallamount of tape, since only repetitive recorded signals are involved.

The embodiment of FIG. 6 contemplates a small compact battery operatedarrangement wherein the tape may be included in the form of casetteunits sold commercially.

While some emphasis has been placed on the use of an alarm in anhypnosis session, it is recognized that parts of the suggestions wouldenable a person to wake up at any time, for example, upon hearing atelephone ring or some other external happening. Some doctors mayinclude words to the effect that if the patient desires to awake beforethe alarm, he should simply say the word awake. In most cases, however,the use of an alarm of some kind is desirable.

It is recognized that special tapes may be made for the specific purposeof carrying out the present invention, which generally involves playinga first portion once and a second portion indefinitely. For example,part of the tape may be differentiated physically by inclusion of metalto denote the separation of the two portions. The tape may berepetitively returned to this marking to permit playing of the secondportion without returning to the first portion after it has been playedonce. The tape may include recorded signals to separate the two portionsor any one of a number of other arrangements may be employed withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a phonograph player having automatic means forrepeatedly returning a movable tone arm from a predetermined inwardposition to a single predetermined outward set down position after saidtone arm has reached said inward position, a phonograph recordcomprising first and second spiral tracks having recorded thereon firstand second messages, respectively, each of said first and second spiraltracks having a starting position and an end position, the startingposition of said first track being provided on said record at a positionspaced from the predetermined set down position of said tone arm saidfirst track being disposed to receive said movable tone arm within saidfirst track at said starting position thereof, said first track disposedto guide said tone arm as it proceeds within said first track from saidstarting position to said end position of said first track when saidphonograph record is rotated, said second track being disposed toreceive said tone arm at its starting position after said tone arm hasreached the end position of said first track, said second track beingdisposed to guide said tone arm within said second track as it proceedsfrom said starting position to said end position of said second track,the end position of said second track is provided on said recordcorresponding to the position at which said automatic means becomesoperative to return said tone am from said predetermined inward positionand said starting position of said second track is provided on saidrecord at a position corresponding to the single predetermined outwardset down position of said tone arm whereby said first track ispreproduced once and said second track is repeatedly reproduced by saidautomatic record player.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein said two tracks areseparated by a land track area at said set down position of said tonearm.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and secondtracks comprise a pair of interposed tracks having information recordedthereon.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 3 wherein said second track isdisposed close to the periphery of said phonograph record to receivesaid tone arm at said predetermined set down position at the start ofeach repetitive reproduction of the infon-nation recorded on said secondportion, with the said first track spaced inwardly towards the center ofphonograph record to permit an operator to manually set said tone am onsaid first track to permit information recorded thereon to be audilgfi;reproduced once.

5. e invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein a third track is includednear center of said record, with means being provided to cause an alarmsignal recorded thereon to be audibly reproduced after the informationon said second track has been reproduced for a predetermined period oftime.

1. In combination with a phonograph player having automatic means forrepeatedly returning a movable tone arm from a predetermined inwardposition to a single predetermined outward set down position after saidtone arm has reached said inward position, a phonograph recordcomprising first and second spiral tracks having recorded thereon firstand second messages, respectively, each of said first and second spiraltracks having a starting position and an end position, the startingposition of said first track being provided on said record at a positionspaced from the predetermined set down position of said tone arm saidfirst track being disposed to receive said movable tone arm within saidfirst track at said starting position thereof, said first track disposedto guide said tone arm as it proceeds within said first track from saidstarting position to said end position of said first track when saidphonograph record is rotated, said second track being disposed toreceive said tone arm at its starting position after said tone arm hasreached the end position of said first track, said second track beingdisposed to guide said tone arm within said second track as it proceedsfrom said starting position to said end position of said second track,the end position of said second track is provided on said recordcorresponding to the position at which said automatic means becomesoperative to return said tone arm from said predetermined inwardposition and said starting position of said second track is provided onsaid record at a position corresponding to the single predeterminedoutward set down position of said tone arm whereby said first track ispreproduced once and said second track is repeatedly reproduced by saidautomatic record player.
 2. The invention as set forth in claim 1wherein said two tracks are separated by a land track area at said setdown position of said tone arm.
 3. The invention as set forth in claim 1wherein said first and second tracks comprise a pair of interposedtracks having information recorded thereon.
 4. The invention as setforth in claim 3 wherein said second track is disposed close to theperiphery of said phonograph record to receive said tone arm at saidpredetermined set down position at the start of each repetitivereproduction of the information recorded on said second portion, withthe said first track spaced inwardly towards the center of phonographrecord to permit an operator to manually set said tone arm on said firsttrack to permit information recorded thereon to be audibly reproducedonce.
 5. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein a third track isincluded near center of said record, with means being provided to causean alarm signal recorded thereon to be audibly reproduced after theinformation on said second track has been reproduced for a predeterminedperiod of time.